NFL: Patriots have lost a game, not their way

Not that the rest of the NFL is handing them a hankie, but the Patriots have become a victim of their own success.

Exhibit A: A panel discussion on ESPN yesterday included the topic of whether the Patriots are overrated. Seriously?

You might want to wait for the sample size to increase a little before venturing there, particularly when you’re talking about a franchise that has made the playoffs nine times in the last 11 seasons, reaching five Super Bowls.

Sure, the defending AFC champions were upset by the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at home. That dropped them to 1-1, which, by the way, is a record currently bettered by all of five teams in the league.

And the setback, while stunning, was by two points — after Stephen Gostkowski, who’s as reliable as Santa Claus on 12-25, missed a makeable field goal — on an afternoon when the offense operated as efficiently as the MBTA.

It was an outcome they deserved and, in true Patriots fashion, nearly avoided thanks to Arizona’s largesse. But overrated? Try a work in progress.

“It’s the second week of the year,” quarterback Tom Brady reminded all yesterday during his weekly chat on WEEI-AM. “It’s not like we’ve got everything figured out as a team yet in practice or in games, obviously.”

The Patriots, who are 1-1 for the third time in four years, are certified playoff material and a legitimate Lombardi Trophy contender following an offseason in which they upgraded their defense through the draft and fortified an offense through the open-market acquisitions of coordinator Josh McDaniels and receiver Brandon Lloyd.

But it’s going to take time to put it all together. With the exception of 2007, that’s the way things have worked around here for the past decade.

Working in their favor is the fact that the Patriots are a member of the AFC East, have a talented — albeit young — roster, are quarterbacked by Brady and coached by Bill Belichick, whose teams historically have improved as the season has progressed. Witness the Patriots’ 45-7 (.865) record in games played after Dec. 1 over the past 10 years.

In the short term, the sailing might be a little rougher than expected. The Patriots face the revenge-minded Ravens in Baltimore this Sunday and follow that with a trip to Buffalo.

Both teams have disruptive defensive lines that, like the Cardinals, could cause problems for the Patriots’ blockers while they wait for center Dan Connolly to return from a concussion, Sebastian Vollmer to resume full-time duty at right tackle, and road-paving tight end Daniel Fells to heal and make his New England debut.

The Patriots also are going to have to figure out — and very quickly — how to deal with the loss of versatile tight end Aaron Hernandez for what is expected to be a few weeks at the minimum after injuring his right ankle Sunday.

Belichick (surprise!) had nothing to offer in the way of an update yesterday, but this isn’t going to turn out to be a case of no news is good news.

Hernandez’s absence likely is going to force the Patriots to adjust their base offense from one featuring two tight ends to one utilizing three receivers. That, for the time being, will put to rest the Wes Welker saga.

Welker is going to get snaps, and lots of them, in the coming weeks unless the Patriots have big plans for the likes of Greg Salas, Matthew Slater, Lex Hilliard and Michael Hoomanawanui.

Why that wasn’t the case prior to Hernandez’s injury remains a matter of speculation, conspirators now theorizing that Belichick is mad at Welker for signing his $9.5 million tender offer rather than a cap-friendly, multiyear deal during an offseason that featured some un-Patriots-like public campaigning by the All-Pro receiver.

There’s also a budding belief that Welker, who caught a league-leading 122 passes last season, isn’t the player he used to be because he has a drop in each of the last three games dating to Super Bowl XLVI.

And that he hasn’t picked up McDaniels’ old/new offense after missing time in the preseason. And that having one guy catch 100 passes isn’t healthy for the offense.

Whatever the reason or reasons, Welker has done his best to avoid creating an individual controversy that would be detrimental to the team’s goals.

“Whenever my number’s called, I go out and play,” Welker told WEEI. “It is what it is. Coaches coach, players play. That’s all I can do.”

Welker is being pragmatic about his situation, and it would be wise for the rest of the league to be realistic when it comes to assessing the Patriots.